
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 16, 1995                   TAG: 9508160078
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                  LENGTH: Medium

BELL ATLANTIC OFFER CALLED 'AN INSULT'

Bell Atlantic Corp. on Tuesday offered a union representing most of its employees a wage increase of 8.5 percent over three years - lower than what four other regional Bell companies and their unions agreed to last week.

Jeff Miller, spokesman for the Communications Workers of America, said that ``it's an insult'' to CWA members and that the union doesn't consider the proposal a serious attempt by the company to move toward a settlement.

The offer also provides improved health care and pension benefits and doubles the cash incentives for workers who voluntarily leave the company before a layoff.

Some parts of the offer are positive steps, however other parts of it aren't acceptable, said Larry Akers, president of CWA Local 2204 in Southwest Virginia. The wage offer will have to come closer to what other regional Bell companies are offering, he said. The smallest pay raise offered by other companies was 10.5 percent, he said.

Last week BellSouth Corp., Pacific Telesis, Southwestern Bell and Ameritech reached new contracts with their unions, subject to final member approval.

Southwestern Bell's contract calls for an 11 percent wage increase over three years. Ameritech's calls for a 10.9 percent increase over three years, and BellSouth's and Pacific Telesis' contracts each provide a 10.5 percent increase over three years.

Bell Atlantic spokesman Eric Rabe said his company already pays more than many other regional Bell companies. In addition, he said the proposal balances the wage increase with better job security provisions. For instance, under the Bell Atlantic offer, new jobs within a unit that handles wiring installation would be CWA jobs. It was not known how many jobs would be involved.

Rabe said the wage offer is an improvement over previous ones, which he would not detail.

Bell Atlantic reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in 1994 and a profit of $1.4 billion before a loss from an accounting change.

The company has 37,000 workers who are CWA members. It operates in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C. It serves about 12 million customers.

At issue in the talks are wages, union members' access to new jobs within the companies, guarantees that those new jobs would be covered by the union, the use of subcontractors and the shifting of health care costs.

CWA members at Bell Atlantic have been working without a contract since Aug. 5. The company has met on and off with CWA since then.

Frustrated by the lack of progress, CWA last week threatened to strike Bell Atlantic. CWA officials said they are continuing to weigh the option.

Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed information to this story.

by CNB